Oregon State rundown: Mike Riley says Andrew Luck changed the dynamic of the entire Stanford program

Courtesy of CSNBayArea.comWhen Andrew Luck arrived on the Stanford campus, things were about to change. Boy, were they about to change

Oregon State coach Mike Riley, once rumored to be in line for the Stanford job (it was never offered), knows how difficult it is to turn a program around. He did it at Oregon State, although there has been some slippage lately.

Riley remembers when the stricken Cardinal was taking on water, going 1-11 in 2006 which led to the firing of Walt Harris.

When Stanford turned to Jim Harbaugh in 2007, Riley thought it was a terrific hire. He had coached Harbaugh ("Captain Comeback'') in San Diego. He knew that Harbaugh would change the culture on The Farm.

It didn't happen overnight. Harbaugh's teams went 4-8 in 2007 and 5-7 in 2008 but a recruiting coup in 2007 changed everything. Harbaugh talked a young man named Andrew Luck into coming to Stanford from Stratford HS in Houston, Tex. and things haven't quite been the same since.

Unbeaten Stanford is ranked No. 3 in the USA Today poll, No. 4 in the AP poll, and No. 4 in the BCS rankings going into Saturday's game against heavy underdog Oregon State.

Luck? He's simply the most-talked about college quarterback in years, a sure-fire No. 1 draft pick who many think could start for most NFL teams right now. In fact, he is talked about so much on the NFL Network and ESPN you would swear he's already there.

Riley talked up Luck, and the Cardinal, during his Tuesday media availability at the Valley Center. Stanford (8-0, 6-0) is riding a nation-leading 16-game winning streak. The Cardinal are 28-5 when Luck starts and as if they don't have enough going for them Saturday, it stands to reason Luck wants to avenge what happened in his redshirt freshman year when the Beavers surprised the Cardinal 38-28 at Reser on a day Quizz went crazy and Luck looked all too human.

"You start with his record, and the resurgence of Stanford football since he was recruited by Harbaugh,'' said Riley. "He (Luck) has really changed the dynamics of that whole program,'' said Riley. "From when he came, to where they are now, it's been pretty impressive.''

Stanford went 8-5 in 2009, losing to No. 19 Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl. Last season, with Luck making NFL scouts salivate, Stanford went 11-1 (the only loss being to Oregon) and clobbered Virginia Tech 40-12 in the Orange Bowl. ... the Cardinal have kept right on rolling, and now they have national championship hopes - which would be blown to smithereens if Oregon State pulls off an upset.

Asked to evaluate the Stanford star, Riley - who knows his quarterbacks - said, "it's pretty easy to look at his gifts. He's not only a great passer, accurate passer, good arm, all that stuff, he's a very gifted athlete. He can run any style of offense. If you wanted to run the spread with him he would probably be real good at it. And then you add some of those intangibles like intelligence, and poise, that ability to look at a defense and pretty much know where he's going to go with the football.''

OSU's student newspaper, the Barometer, has a story on the Dylan Wynn/Scott Crichton phenomenon. Wynn has already lost more games in college (six) than he did in four years at powerhouse Bay Area HS De La Salle